This is my quest to use Woman's Day magazine as a guide to living a better life, month to month, by incorporating as many of the articles, recipes, and advertising into my life as possible. My goal is to grow as a person, discover more about myself and others, and test my limits, boundaries, and abilities.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Review: Wen is a Wen-ner for Me!

If you relied solely on the reviews of the general public, you would think that Wen by Chaz Dean is one of the most surreptitiously deviant and poorly formulated products on the beauty market:

"I tried Wen hair care, hoping it would help with split ends. It was not a helpful product for my hair. I have fine but thick hair, and I ended up with sticky feeling hair with flyaway dry ends. But to add insult, I was encouraged to set up an account so I could get advice from a Wen Consultant. DO NOT DO THIS!! I have been charged monthly and shipped products I have not ordered.""I've used this product twice. The first time, my hair certainly didn't feel clean afterward and it definitely didn't stay clean. I usually wash my hair twice a week, no problem. It's Wednesday, and I'll be washing tonght for the third time this week. I'm so disappointed because the commercials make it look so great. Sad deal, not worth it.""Do not buy Wen products and especially DO NOT BUY THEM FROM THEIR ADS! Their ads lie and their guarantee is tough to get back. The product is not that great - just use your moisturizer as shampoo that is what Wen is... moisturizer works better, is cheaper and you won't have to deal with the scam tactics that the company uses & keeps billing even though you call to cancel."The first issue I would like to address is that Wen is a "scam." I want to preface my review by clearly stating that I am not reviewing this product for any benefit besides lending wisdom to the general public and venting and I did not receive these products from any other means than a regular consumer. That said, I have worked in the call center of several businesses and despite my personal feelings about how those businesses are managed a few concrete facts became clear to me after working with thousands upon thousands of customers:1. People want something for nothing. And I mean nothing.Customers want free shipping and free services and they have no dignity when it concerns getting these things. They will lie, degrade you, threaten you, and steal from you. It happens every single day to businesses who are simply offering a decent product and would like to remain lucrative. 2. People make purchases and don't read the fine print. Oh wait, people don't read the large print either.One scenario that I will use to festoon the necks of at least 95% of people who wrote reviews for WEN calling it a "scam" is that Erin Entitlement went online, made a purchase without reading any of the details of how the company operates, and then became surprised and outraged when the terms she lackadaisically agreed to ACTUALLY TAKE PLACE. Not only did she want a free product, but she also wanted a representative from Wen to visit her home, pick up the product, package it, take it to UPS, and pay for the return shipping. Or maybe she thought that Wen just sends free product and then grants your money back 3 months later when you remember to call to cancel.3. Companies will charge your credit card if you provide it to them because you PURCHASED THEIR PRODUCT.This is pretty straight forward. Again, businesses don't hand over free product or services and just say,"Oh we just asked for your credit card because we're taking surveys on how many customers use Visa as opposed to Mastercard. We didn't really intend to charge you for that stuff you've had 3 months. It's ok. Keep it. If you want to make a donation later, it's tax deductible."If you want to become completely disillusioned about humanity, work in a call center. I have worked for Christian organizations, clothing companies, and credit scores businesses. My advice would be, don't call religious hotlines because you're talking to someone who has a personalized, scripted prayer for you and just spent the last half hour talking to their neighbor about how drunk they became the night prior. Besides that, just be a decent human being and an honest consumer and research what you purchase.That said, I had no problem whatsoever ordering Wen. I went online, and immediately changed my shipping frequency to every 10 months so I would not be charged again in a few weeks. I returned the empty bottles after a month and a half, kept the free gift, and sent the package insured mail. It arrived a week later and I received my FULL REFUND a week after that. I didn't have to call anyone at any time. Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how to read.The product itself was good for me. I realize everyone is different and my hair is now more fine than thick. My best friend tried the product too and her hair is very thick and curly. She didn't like it as she said it made her hair more "poofy." I thought it made my hair greasy at first but then I realized I was not rinsing well enough. Don't use it in the bath--only the shower so you get a very thorough rinse. Once I rinsed it as the instructions stated, I will admit I was somewhat impressed. I typically have to wash my hair every day due to an oil scalp, but I have dry ends. Using Wen, I didn't have to wash my hair every day, it felt lighter, cleaner, and super moisturized. Plus the lavender brand that I purchased honestly smelled like lavender and in reading the ingredients I was pleased that it was shorter than other shampoos and I could easily identify and pronounce all of them.I really needed all the extra fullness and moisture. Using the deep conditioning was a laughable event since I let my hair air dry and I ended up looking like a poodle. Wen offers a started kit in 3 different "flavors"--lavender, sweet almond mint, and pomegranate for different types of hair. They have a money back guarantee and ordering online is very simple.